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Matthews makes his pitch in Buffalo ahead of NHL draft

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BUFFALO — Wearing a pristine white Buffalo Bisons jersey with his trademark No. 34 on the back, Auston Matthews stepped into the batting cage and dug in, all the while having just one thing on his mind.

It was time to go deep.

With big league-like efficiency, he waggled the bat — “it was my go-to back in the day,” he said — and prepared for the first pitch to come in.

On this sun-splashed Wednesday afternoon, a number of the NHL’s top prospects gathered to take some batting practice at Buffalo’s Coca-Cola Field, the home of the Bisons, the triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. It was a chance to relieve some of the pressure that goes hand-in-hand with the upcoming 2016 NHL draft at the First Niagara Center, which will be held Friday and Saturday.

Earlier in the day, Brian Matthews, Auston’s dad who had played baseball in college, offered some tips to his son about how to succeed at the plate. The advice from Brian: “Keep your hands back, baseball stuff like that,” Auston revealed before breaking into a chuckle.

Now, here he was, the projected No. 1 pick, with the opportunity to show off his skills in another sport.

The BP pitcher was ready. With a modest windup, he let the ball go.

His eyes widening, Matthews took a big stride and unleashed a mighty swing.

Suddenly, potential disaster.

On this, the first pitch he saw, Matthews fouled the ball sharply off his own foot. This was the same fashion in which major leaguers had fractured tootsies and ankles over the years.

Somewhere, Maple Leafs general manager Lou Lamoriello was cringing.

At least he would have been had he seen the incident.

Fortunately, the only thing significantly damaged was Matthews’ pride.

“Yeah, I fouled that first one off my ankle,” Matthews recounted. “I thought: ‘Oh, man.’ ”

“At least it doesn’t hurt.”

Maybe not. But he probably just gave the entire Leafs brass a collective heart attack.

“It didn’t (hit flush), it went off the sole of my shoe,” Matthews said. “So it wasn’t too bad.

“It was a little embarrassing, though, having the first one go off my foot.”

To be fair, Matthews did exhibit power — warning-track power, that is.

“I was swinging for the fences but didn’t get one out,” he said.

For Matthews and the rest of the prospects, the event kicked off a number of scheduled pre-draft appearances, including a trip on the Maid of the Mist in Niagara Falls on Thursday. According to Matthews, he will have more butterflies churning in his gut for that boat ride than he will waiting to hear his name called out on Friday.

“I’ve done it before,” Matthews said of the Maid of the Mist. “It’s scary but it’s a great view.”

Much like the one he’ll have from the podium Friday.

And, thankfully, he won’t have to limp across the stage in a walking boot when his name is called because of a painful foul ball.

Now THAT would have been embarrassing.

ADVICE, TORONTO STYLE

Mississauga native Dalton Pompey, the Blue Jays starting centre fielder on Opening Day 2015, watched Matthews take some hacks in the cage before giving the kid some advice about potentially handling everything that goes with playing in Toronto. Pompey, now with the Bisons, is sidelined right now as he attempts to recover from a concussion.

“I introduced myself to him and told him where I was from,” Pompey said. “I’m a big hockey fan as well.”

What tips did Pompey give Matthews?

“It’s how you view things,” Pompey said. “If you view yourself as a saviour, that’s a lot of pressure. If he goes out and plays how he’s capable, I’m sure he’ll be just fine.”

Pompey said any kind of post-season success by the Leafs would send Toronto into the type of frenzy that would exceed the fandemonium surrounding the Blue Jays’ playoff run of last season.

“I knew it was a big deal when the Leafs got the first pick,” Pompey said. “They’re in a rebuilding state and the sky’s the limit. Hopefully they can bring a championship to Toronto.

“You saw what happened with the Blue Jays and how the city surrounded us — and the whole country. I think for the Leafs, it’s going to be double that. It’s a long time coming and what the fans deserve.”

TOUGH LOVE

Say this about Matthews: he has no illusions when it comes to how difficult life will be in the NHL.

Indeed, he saw that first hand for himself when he and some of the other top prospects attended Game 4 of the Stanley Cup final between the Penguins and Sharks in San Jose, a memorable day in which he met stars Sidney Crosby and Joe Thornton.

“What you see is how tough a game it is,” Matthews said. “There is no space out there. And yet somehow guys like Crosby, (Evgeni) Malkin and Thornton still find ways to make these little plays.

“That’s probably the biggest thing I took out of that — how hard it is.”

CROSS CHECKS

Buffalo media pressed Matthews on what he thinks the atmosphere will be like at First Niagara Center on Friday, given the anticipated throng of Leafs fans expected to be shoehorned inside the building. “I’m sure it’s going to be surreal,” he said. “It already is. It’s pretty exciting.” ... Why does he wear No. 34? “It’s the number my dad and grandpa wore when they were playing sports,” he explained ... Asked how many friends and family will be in attendance for the draft Friday, Matthews estimated about 15, including his parents, grandparents and two sisters ... With former Knights such as Patrick Kane, Rick Nash and Corey Perry having gone on to stardom in the NHL, London prospect Matthew Tkachuk was asked why so many graduates from that OHL team find success at the next level. “Maybe other teams don’t stress winning as much,” he said. “But in London, the goal of every person is to win, including the trainers.”

Email: mzeisberger@postmedia.com

Twitter: @zeisberger

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